The case against Michael Barton, the teenager accused of murdering student Anthony Walker, is being outlined at Liverpool Crown Court.

Neil Flewitt QC, prosecuting, began presenting his evidence against Mr Barton, who denies the charges, on Wednesday 16 November.

Paul Taylor, 20, of Huyton, Merseyside, changed his plea to guilty as the trial was due to begin at Preston Crown Court, sitting in Liverpool.

The main allegations made by the prosecution on the first day of the trial were as follows:

Anthony Walker and his cousin Marcus Binns were pursued by Taylor, Michael Barton and others who had the intent of causing them harm "for no other reason than the colour of their skin" , Mr Flewitt said.

On the night of 29 July, Taylor was seen to scratch something on the Huyton Park pub sign. Taylor's nickname "Chomper" was later found in a number of places alongside a swastika motif, he told the court.

Paul Taylor changed his plea as the trial was due to get under way

Forensic scientists found seven marks in the sign that were made with the same axe that killed Anthony, Mr Flewitt told the jury.

At about 2230 BST, Anthony, his girlfriend Louise Thompson and cousin Marcus Binns were waiting at a bus stop opposite the pub when a "lad" began shouting abuse at them.

Mr Flewitt said Louise recalled him using the words "niggers" and "coons", while Marcus remembered him shouting "microphone head" and "Michael Jackson".

The prosecutor claimed both Taylor and Mr Barton were present during the racial abuse.

Sensing trouble, Anthony and his friends walked away to the next bus stop but were pursued by a Peugeot car in which Mr Barton, Taylor and others were travelling, Mr Flewitt said.

The trio took a short cut across McGoldrick Park and had almost reached the exit when they were ambushed by a group of three or four young men who were hiding in nearby bushes.

The court heard Louise and Marcus managed to escape. Marcus knocked at the door of a house for help but by the time he returned to the park, he found Anthony lying with an ice axe embedded in his skull.

Anthony Walker's mother was in court to hear the prosecution case

Anthony was pronounced dead in hospital at 0525 BST the following day. He was killed with a single blow from the wide end - or adze - of the axe.

The jury was told that no significant injuries were found on the back of his head, leading a home office pathologist to believe the fatal blow may have been struck as he lay on the ground.

Taylor and Mr Barton, Mr Flewitt claimed, fled the scene in the Peugeot and abandoned it at The Brick Wall pub, where police later found traces of Anthony's blood on the inside of the passenger door.

Mr Flewitt told the court the pair fled in another car to Dover, where they caught the 0600 BST ferry to Calais, then drove to Amsterdam.

While they were away, Mr Barton called his brother Joseph and said, "Listen, I was there but I didn't kill him, it was Chomper, Chomper killed him", the prosecutor alleged.

During his police interview, Mr Barton claimed that Anthony and Marcus had started the trouble outside the pub.

Mr Barton claimed he had jumped a fence to evade the pair, saying he felt "humiliated" by the incident, Mr Flewitt said.

He claimed that Taylor picked him up in a car later and he had picked up what he thought was a "stick" to frighten the pair, which he dropped as he chased Marcus.

Mr Flewitt said Mr Barton then returned to find Anthony on the floor with an axe sticking out of his head which he tried - but was unable to - remove.